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When Dillin s Dad passed away after returning from Iraq, he and his family were devastated. That s when Legacy stepped in to o er practical help like education assistance, nancial hardship relief, health and ageing needs, and a lifetime of social and emotional support. To make sure we re here if your family needs us, please consider how you can help Legacy. • Volunteer for Legacy events • Become a Legatee • Be an advocate for Legacy among friends and family • Create a fundraising project for Legacy To donate, phone 1800 LEGACY (534 229) or visit www.legacy.com.au WE SALUTE YOU National Partners This advertisement proudly sponsored by aviation faculty of science Looking for an upgrade? Upgrade your professional qualification@ UNSW Aviation: Programs in Aviation Management Bachelor of Aviation Find out more www.aviation@unsw.edu.au or call Jamie on (02) 9385-6767 8 News AIR FORCE April 2, 2009 By WO2 Graham McBean DEFENCE recruiting figures con- tinue to defy national trends with a 54 per cent increase in enquiries across the ADF in January 2009. The increase in interest bucks the Australian trend -- Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that unem- ployment increased by 29,900 in the Australian workforce in January. ADF enquiries for 2008 peaked in October with a 27 per cent increase to 8780 -- or 1863 more people than the same period in 2007. In January this year, enquiries jumped from 3503 in 2008 to 9937. Recruiting authorities said the fig- ures were encouraging but it was still too early to tell whether a tightening labour market was having a direct effect on ADF recruitment and retention. Director Military Recruiting GPCAPT Sheldon Kimber said work was needed to convert enquiries and applications into 11,100 recruits. "I do believe we have put in place recruiting strategies and initiatives that have led to an increased interest in recruitment," GPCAPT Kimber said. "I would expect that this increased Interest in ADF is up UNDERGRAD and postgrad courses in air power will be offered at UNSW@ADFA, now that the post of Chief of Air Force Fellow in Air Power has been established. This follows the signing in of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Air Force and the univer- sity which establishes a senior lec- turer for the purposes of providing air power education and mentoring for Air Force ADFA cadets. WGCDR Mark Hinchcliffe took up the position in January this year. The courses will be available to all ADFA students, including civil- ians and international students, and will aim to promote a deeper under- standing of air power and its role in a whole-of-government approach to national security. WGCDR Hinchcliffe will occupy New fellow for ADFA the fellow's position for three years and will research 'air power in the Australian context' while at ADFA. CAF has endorsed this new posi- tion as an invaluable opportunity to "not only educate our future officers but to provide strong academic men- toring for them as well". IT'S OFFICIAL: Professor David Lovell from UNSW and AIRCDRE Leo Davies from AFHQ sign the MOA. Photo: FSGT John Carroll interest, coupled with changed eco- nomic circumstances, should improve our chances of recruiting many of the people making enquiries. "However, regardless of the eco- nomic circumstances and job market, the ADF is an employer of first choice, not last resort." Application figures peaked in September 2008, also at 27 per cent, with a more modest 13 per cent in October and 14 per cent increase in November. The January figure, how- ever, was down marginally by 57 to 1272 but DFR is now approaching the traditional recruiting period. January enlistment/appointment figures for the full-time Air Force were at 86 per cent of predicted targets as at February 1, with part-time figures at 71 per cent for the same period. GPCAPT Kimber said there was no direct historical connection between economic downturns and recruitment; rather there was increased retention of serving personnel in a tough job mar- ket with reduced vacancies. He said he was more concerned that trades, professions (including engi- neering and specialist recruitments) were still undersubscribed. "We are not yet seeing the same increases in actual enlistments and recruiting numbers in the roles and trades we particularly want to fill," he said. GPCAPT Kimber said more than 100,000 enquiries were needed to achieve recruiting targets. More than 40,000 applications were then required to convert successful civilians into recruits. Chandler Macleod Group took on the mammoth task of recruiting the ADF's full-time and part-time recruits on February 1 after a six-month tran- sition from the former contractor, Manpower. SEEKING INFORMATION: Above, SGT Tunya Fox from Defence Force Recruiting talks to members of the public at the Australian International Airshow 2009 at Avalon. TESTING HIS SKILLS: Right, Jackson Williams on the flight simulator in the DFR tent at the airshow. Photos: LAC Aaron Curran